Masquerade
by xXRavenWingsXx
Summary: Bruce throws a masquerade for all of the super heroes. It will be the one night they can all wear their masks with confidence, not with fear of being revealed, and the Titans are invited (west&east). Raven goes separately from her friends and arrives to find a handsome stranger mysteriously enthralled with her. Who could it be? Rated T for Titan!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey you guys! I know I ought to be working on Memories right now, but I'm currently brain dead on ideas for that story (any suggestions would be flipping awesome!). This idea has been playing in my head for about a week and I've finally decided what I want to do with it. It started with a dream, actually. This is going to be a two-shot so, heads up! Anywho, as always please review (it gives me all the joys!), favorite, and follow!**

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The soles of Raven's shoes seemed relentless in their apparent attempt to wear out and ruin the perfectly maintained carpet of their owner's room. A matching silver-white shaded evening gown hung across her shoulders, as if honored to be her dress of choice.**  
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If you had asked any Titan in the tower what Raven thought of attending a masquerade ball, they would have told you that she was dreading it. She had already out-right refused to go and Robin had accepted it, allowing her to stay home. He never even mailed her RSVP to Bruce.

But she had. Raven wanted to go, if only so that she could be someone else for a few hours. For only a few wonderful hours, she could shake her sullen self and see what it was like to be just like the others, who were happily encased in their dome of emotions to which she could never be a part. But tonight, she would crack the dome. No one would be afraid to talk to her, smile at her, laugh with or at her. She would be that relative sort of normal, at least as normal as one of 200 superheros in eveningwear at a masquerade ball could be. If her friends had none, the entire party would have known in minutes that she was not to be approached.

After a deep breath, the empath stepped in front of the full-length mirror that she rarely used. Her lips parted in a small gasp. For the first time in her 19 years of life, she felt beautiful.

The floor-length, a-line dress had a sweetheart neckline and lace straps that met somewhere towards the small of her back. The gorgeous color almost dampened her skin tone, making it loose a large portion of it's grey tint. Most startling, however, was her hair. The long locks had grown to the middle of her back, was coaxed into a wavy, feminine style, and was temporarily dyed black, which would wash out the next morning before any other Titan saw her. The color made her amethyst eyes shimmer like water over a smoothe rock. Other than a thin line of black eyeliner and mascara to showcase her eyes, the enchantress wore no makeup, something she could easily pull off.

She turned and grasped the simple black lace-on black satin mask and situated it over her eyes. She gave the mirror a very sultery un-Rae grin, twirled like an un-Rae girl on prom night in an un-Rae dress with an un-Rae haircut and an un-Rae confident attitude.

No, tonight, she was not Raven. She was Rowena Roth*, and Rowena Roth would shine brighter than Raven ever could.

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**So, I sincerely hope that you enjoyed this chapter and the next one should actually be up later today! Thank you so super much for taking the time to read it! You are such a cool cat!**

***I am aware that Raven's real name is Rachael Roth in the comics, but I don't think it really fits her, so I went with Rowena. I for one think it suits her much better:)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, earthlings! As promised, this chapter is much longer than the previous one, but I think it's worth it. I hope you enjoy! Lots o' Loves! ~ Alice**

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Rowena* phased through Jump and into Gotham, where Bruce's mansion was located. The hem of her dress fluttered to the ground gracefully as the dark aura surrounding it faded from under it. She stood directly in front of a kiosk of sorts, where an elderly gentleman in a tuxedo, complete with crisp white gloves and an impeccably presented bow tie, was quietly conversing with a much younger, beefier man, also splendidly dressed in a tailored suit, who was presumably the security for the event. Neither had noticed her appearance and neither showed any inclination to deviate from their rather dull small talk conversation.

The empath threw her shoulders back, reminding herself that tonight, she was confident; she was calm; she was classy; she was the epitome of who she wanted to be. She gave a slight cough, startling the two men, who immediately turned to her with first shocked, then awed, then pleasant expressions.

"Why hello, miss. Please accept my sincerest apologies! I did not notice your arrival," the elderly gentleman cooed. Now that he was turned towards the girl, she recognized him as Alfred, Bruce's long-time butler.

"No, it's quite alright, Alfred. I'm afraid I didn't go out to make myself known," Rowena replied, taking on the butler's professional tone. "I was invited by Mr. Wayne to attend tonight's events and I was wondering how I might go about this?" She gave him a smile that could melt chocolate in two seconds flat.

"Of course! May I see your invitation, madame?" Upon receiving the paper she produced from the pocket in her dress, which she had insisted upon for this particular reason, his eyes shot upwards. "Why, Miss Roth, what a wonderful costume! I had no idea it was you behind the mask! Why, you've even dyed your hair! Master Wayne will be most pleased to see such care put into his event!"

"Why thank you, Alfred. May I enter?"

"Of course dear!"

The younger gentleman broke forward into the conversation, obviously taking a cue. "What, madame, would you like to be announced as?" For a moment, the girl looked at him with a blank stare, obviously not understanding. "We announce to the room who is entering so everyone will know not to call a certain person by their hero name, but by whatever they've selected. You can use your real name, if you feel comfortable disclosing it, or you may opt for an entirely fictional name."

"Rowena Roth," she replied without a moment's hesitation.

"Excellent choice. I will call your name, then you enter, stand still and count to five, and proceed down the staircase. Do you have an escort?"

"No, I'll be arriving alone."

"If you wish, we can have someone escort you to the main area, or you can enter yourself. Whichever you prefer."

"No, that's alright, I fight criminals on a daily basis. I'm certain I can handle a few steps and people watching me just fine by myself, thank you."

With a twinkle in his eye and a small chuckle, the man replied, "I thought you'd say that," and led her towards a large set of double oak doors that were at least three times her height. "Are you ready?" After her responding nod, he threw open the doors and proclaimed, "Miss Rowena Roth," and stepped to the side.

After a quick and shaky breath, she strode into the room and counted to five.

One. Only a few people looked at her.

Two. Maybe this would be easier than she thought.

Three. Robin and Starfire looked up.

Four. The chatter began to die down as more and more guests looked up at her.

Five. Nope. Not as easy as she thought.

Placing a slender hand delicately on the right banister and gracefully gathering some of her skirt into the other hand, she descended the marble staircase as nearly the entire room watched. Nervously, she glanced at her feet and her stomach began doing backflips. Rowena began to fret over her friends, who had incidentally been gathered at the foot of the staircase. _What if they know? They have to know. Oh, God I really didn't think this through did I? Of course they'll recognize me. Oh, please don't let them recognize me._

As her foot finally hit the floor, small conversations started up once again. She could only catch a snippet here or there, but the general phrase was "...who was that girl?..." A small smile of triumph slid over her lips as she approached her friends. _The only way to know if I can pull this off is if I can convince them. Let's just get this over with..._

"Why hello!" came Starfire's ever joyous greeting, "You look most glorious! My name is Kori, may we be friends?" she fired off at lightning speed.

"Um, yeah, that'd be great!" said a relieved girl. _One down, four to go._

"Hi. They said you're name's Rowena, right?" Cyborg interjected. He obviously didn't even try to cover up his mechanics, as they were recognizable from every angle. He, so discretely the dark girl in question barely noticed it, looked her up and down.

"Yes, and you're going by?"

"Well, I figured there really wasn't much point in hiding who I am, since it's kind of obvious, so I'm goin' by Cyborg tonight. So is Beast Boy over there." She gave a sideways glance to the green shapeshifter who was practically drooling, "and that's Richard Greyson," he gave a nod in the direction of the boy Rowena already knew as Robin, then shot her a friendly smile. Just about that time, Bumblebee arrived next to Cyborg and he immediately put his arm around her slim waist, pulling her closely. "And this is my girl, Karen. Karen this is Rowena."

"Yeah, I know. I gotta say girl, I don't know where you got that dress, but I swear, it had to have been made for you. You look absolutely fantastic."

"Thanks, but trust me, there's no way I could look better than you do in that gorgeous dress!" Rowena lathered on the emotion and inflection in her voice, attempting to ensure she wouldn't be found out. Of course, she actually did mean the compliment, Bumblebee did look stunning, but she usually wouldn't have dared to even hint at emotion.

Just as 'Karen' was about to reply with what was sure to be a humble comment, the string quartet hired for the ball struck up a waltz and Cyborg and 'Richard' immediately turned to their respective dates and requested a dance, which was eagerly accepted by both parties. Unfortunately, this left Rowena standing awkwardly next to Beast Boy, who was obviously attempting to build up the courage to ask for a dance. Her eyes darted around, looking for any escape so she wouldn't have to hurt his feelings by declining.

Her eyes caught a glimpse of red and flickered back to find it once more. It belonged to an extremely attractive teenager, was sitting at a round table with some other teen boys, none of which could compare to his obvious good looks, which couldn't be veiled, even behind the elaborate mask that matched his hair color. It took her a moment to realize that, while she had been looking at him, he had been looking at her. Unable to control herself, she looked at the ground and turned slightly while guiding a lock of hair behind her ear and smiled to herself. _Oh come on, Raven! Get a grip! You're supposed to be out there tonight! Stop staring at the ground! _she chastised herself.

As she reluctantly dragged her eyes from the ground, she found herself only two feet away from the teen. Her eyes widened in response as he extended his hand and smoothly asked, "May I have this dance?" Rowena was shocked. _Me? Dance? Who? No. Yes. What? YES. SAY YES NITWIT! HE'S NOT GONNA STAND THERE FOREVER! _

"It would be my pleasure," she calmly responded with a wide grin. _OK, so that came out much nicer than I had hoped. _She looped her arm gracefully through his as he guided her to the dance floor.

"I hope Beast Boy doesn't mind," he whispered playfully.

"Oh, I'm sure he does, but thanks for saving me," she retorted, earning a deep chuckle. _Oh, do that again. What? OK, seriously, it's fine to let loose a little, but you are NOT resorting to girly comments on guys. No. Just no._

"Trust me, he knows you're way out of his league," came his cocky response, to which she raised an eyebrow and continued their playful banter.

"But I'm not out of yours?"

"Oh you are, but I have an advantage," he declared.

"And what would that be?" The couple finally reached the dancefloor.

"I, my dear," he quickly twirled her close next to his chest, placed his left hand in her right one, and wrapped his right arm around to the small of her back, causing a deep red blush to creep up the empath's neck, "can waltz."

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**So, this is actually going to end up being much longer than I had originally anticipated, but who cares?! Not me! Anywho, I hope you enjoyed! Also, if you have any ideas on what Speedy's 'decided name' should be *Like Rowena is Raven's* leave them in the comments!**

***The reason I refer to Raven as Rowena throughout the chapter is because 'Rowena' is Raven's actual name and what she'll be called the entire story, until the last chapter or so. Rowena represents Raven's more outgoing side, which is why she acts particularly OOC. Just making sure that's clear!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you to all of the lovely people who have already reviewed, favorited, and followed this story! I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter up, but I've had a ton of AP European History homework and I've been incapable of deciding on a name which, thanks to RinnyTheOrange (hello!), has been decided upon! *polite applause* Enjoy, munchkins!**

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The masked couple took off spinning. The violin only sped ip, as did the entire dance floor. All too soon, the song cam to a close with a flourish.

A breathless Rowena gazed up into her suitor's eyes, a deep, rich blue, a nearly perfect match for her cape back home. With a start, the empath realized that she had no idea what his name was.

Only a brief pause separated the vigorous song previously played from the new one, a slow cello solo. Without moving his arm from around the petite girl, the handsome hero smoothly requested another dance, almost as though he already knew the answer. A slight nod from Rowena was barely made before he began to twirl her, then bring her back to him, perfectly in time with the music.

_He really wasn't lying when he said he could dance._

"Well, sir, I hope you don't mind my saying so, but I'm afraid I'm at a bit of a disadvantage here."

"Oh?" A twinkle of curiosity lit up his eyes.

"Well, you see, you know my name, but I haven't the slightest idea of yours." She offered him a warm smile. A beautiful peace settled on her with the plain motion that many others took for granted. It had been so long since she'd smiled, she couldn't help herself but do it again.

"It's Christian Williams," he offered. The gorgeous smile of the even more radiant girl in his arms did not go unnoticed. He couldn't wait until 12 o'clock to find out who this woman was.

"Well, Mr. Christian Williams, tell me about yourself," Rowena said, the smile never leaving her features.

"Well, Miss Rowena Roth," he played along with her formal speech, "I'm a hero; I'm 17; I'm devilishly handsome, and I'd rather learn about you." A sly smirk pulled at the right edge of his mouth. "Would you like to go out on the balcony with me?"

Rowena's inner Raven dreaded the thought of being with him by herself. She was terrified that she'd somehow ruin the wonderful night. However, Rowena refused to again sit idly by as her life flew away. She knew that tonight would be her one chance to experience emotions and freedom and joy.

"I'd love to." He swiveled to her side, his hand remaining clasped in hers as they walked across the dance floor, many people attempting to hide their stares at the handsome couple.

Rowena leaned against the railing of the stone balcony just outside the elaborate ballroom of the Wayne mansion. It overlooked a garden with too many flowers and plants to count lining the stone walls encasing them. Most prominent in the moonlit display was a weeping willow in front of a tall section of the garden walls, wich was shrouded in wisteria flowers.

A light wind blew as they stood in comfortable silence, just enjoying each other's company. After a few minutes, Rowena began to shiver as the adrenaline from the dance wore off. Without a word being said, Christian slid behind her and wrapped his arms around her small frame.

"Rowena, it's nearly midnight." She gave a soft murmur in agreement. "You know when the clock chimes, we're supposed to take off our masks, right?" Again she nodded. "I just want to know if you planned on doing that."

"I will, but only once I'm away from all this."

"Why?" She turned her face to his, leaving their bodies the way they were. His eyes spoke of sincere curiosity. He wasn't asking anything of her, he only asked her reasoning.

"You, along with everyone in there, won't like me when I do."

A quiet moment passed and she turned her head to face the garden again as Christian pondered her response.

"How about a deal then?"

"What kind of deal?" She tried to make her voice as nonchalant as possible, but couldn't hide her curiosity.

"If I tell you my identity, you have to tell me yours."

After only a moment spent in consideration, Rowena agreed, never once thinking he'd actually do it. "So tell me, Christian. Who are you?" At just that moment, the clock struck and people began taking off their masks, some shocked, others relieved, and some terrified. The man in front of her reached up and removed his mask, quickly replacing it with a more simple one.

"Speedy from Titans East." The air flew out of Rowena's lungs as with each passing second she turned back to Raven; back to the timidity and the expressionless creature she was only a few hours ago.

She stood still as a statue for a good minute and Speedy began to worry. He was already nervous enough that she might think differently of him once he became himself again; he couldn't stand the thought that he wouldn't ever know who she was, so he carefully reached up to her mask and pulled it away from her face. Raven was incapable of forcing herself to do it. She knew he would probably run for the hills the second he saw her.

Speedy's jaw dropped to the floor as he beheld the girl in front of him. Her eyelashes grazed her cheeks as she kept her amethyst irises downcast. Even the way she bit her bottom lip or rubbed her left arm with her right hand in a nervous tick was, to him, beautiful in every sense of the word.

"Raven?" he breathed. She looked up at him with wide, pleading eyes. "I can't believe it was you."

"I can't either," she barely whispered. He cupped his right hand around her cheek and pulled her tighter to him with his other hand.

"Raven, I... I really don't know what to say... um... I... God, this doesn't happen to me."

"What?" she asked, genuinely confused by his statement.

"Guys like me... we never get the girl. I mean, we can pretend to be all suave, but when it comes down to it... we never get girls like you."

"What do you mean, girls like me?" The fact that he was already saying that he had 'gotten the girl' didn't escape her.

He inched his face closer to her and said, "Girls like you, who are way to good for guys like me."

With their mouths only a few tantalizing centimeters apart, she smiled. "That sounds like it came from some chick flick."

"Does it really matter if it did?" He put his forehead to hers.

"No."

_La Fin_

**In case ya didn't figure it out, lots o' mushy kiss scene came after that, and I don't like writin no mushy kiss scenes. Just not my thing. :) Anywho, I really hope that you enjoyed! Love y'all lots! ~Alice**


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